Welcome! My name is Rachael Bessette, I am a Graduate Student at the Rochester Institute of Technology pursuing my Master’s in Business Administration. My undergraduate degree is in Marketing with a minor in Advertising and Public Relations.
While in my last semester of the program I look forward to graduating and advancing my Marketing career by working in social media marketing or event marketing. Some of my skills that aid in these career options are the ability to be organized, having success in planning, as well as my background in advertising and public relations.
When I’m not in school I thoroughly enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends. I also always make time for physical activity, specifically rowing, which I have been involved in since I was in middle school.
I am currently at the Rochester Institute of Technology. After completing my undergraduate in Psychology and with my interest for conducting experiments and pulling data, I wanted to further my education in the business sphere, as these research designs and methodologies often overlap. The MBA program allowed me to advance my career and sharpen my research interests, specifically in the investment banking sector. I will be done this summer of 2024.
Projects:
During my undergrad, under the McNair Post-Baccalaureate program I worked with R.I.T Human Resource Department. I was assigned to conduct my project on all 30 competing colleges in line with R.I.T. benefits, ranging from colleges such as Cornell, Duke, Indiana, etc. My Task was to compare each of their benefits in relation to R.I.T.’s. and make recommendations. Most of my data extraction was pulled from university’s websites and put into an excel spreadsheet and graphs to explain my findings.
I compiled a list of 11 sectors that were the main driving force of our economy. From each sector, I selected three companies that my research proved to be undervalued & underperforming but had an opportunity for growth. I went about this by looking at each sector and tracking their indexes. From there, I looked at those companies’ lists and researched them individually. Once a company was selected, I watched their prior years and their stock trend patterns from over ten years, as well as how much they fluctuated year to year, and ran randomization and probability to see what the likelihood of them repeating the same pattern would be while adding and subtracting their prices differences over the years. This project helped create a diversified portfolio that mimics their index but had better returns. Netflix, which I bought at 270, and Nvidia at 200, have succeeded in this project since I started this in 2022.
”An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
Please take a moment to read my resume below and connect with me on LinkedIn.
My name is Alexa Briggs and I am a current MBA student at RIT. I got my bachelor’s degree in marketing, and decided to go to school for another year and a half to get my MBA. I am looking forward to enhancing my educational knowledge before continuing my full-time career as a marketer.
Besides my love and commitment to marketing, I got my minor in photography. Not only has it helped me gain a new perspective of the world, but I have also learned how to create content that appeals to particular groups of people. My photography minor has allowed me to learn about marketing in an educational way outside of the business shell. My experience as a social media photographer taught me how to see content through both the marketers’ and the followers’ eyes. This helped me create, edit, and share specific content for certain demographics. Photography is something I am passionate about, and has been a unique catalyst in my marketing education and career.
I hope my MBA can magnify my skills not just with marketing, but with business as a whole. I greatly anticipate the opportunities that await me post graduation with two degrees and a minor. In the meantime, take a look at what I have done so far and connect with me on LinkedIn to help me along my journey!
“F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours.”
― Zig Ziglar
Shannon J. Stevely is excited to complete a Masters in Business Administration in the program at RIT’s Saunders School of Business in fall 2023, following a successful professional journey. She holds a summa cum laudeBachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from SUNY Brockport and recently earned a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt from RIT, enhancing her process improvement and operational efficiency skills.
During her career, Shannon completed two impactful internships. At Advantech Industries, she managed the Epicor system, handled quotes, and ensured compliance with sensitive documents. Her University of Rochester Medical Centerinternship involved optimizing workflows, participating in financial meetings, and implementing Lean methodologies.
In her role as Administrative Project Specialist at HARBEC, Shannon led projects, coordinated with stakeholders, and ensured flawless execution. Earlier, as an Administrative Secretary, she managed office supplies and provided crucial support.
Anticipating her MBA journey, Shannon aims to contribute her diverse skills to the business community. Her background in healthcare administration, Lean Six Sigma certification, and extensive internships prepare her for future challenges. She looks forward to furthering her education and career at RIT while networking with peers and professionals.
Hello, I’m Matt Chase, an MBA student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Ithaca College in May 2023. During my time at Ithaca, I was a member of the baseball team, achieving two conference and regional tournament victories. I received recognition as an all-conference player and was honored as the most outstanding player in the conference tournament. Additionally, I was selected for the Liberty League all-academic team during my Junior and Senior years. My college sports experience instilled valuable skills like time management, leadership, and teamwork. Moreover, I contributed as a peer success coach and a member of the school’s social media team.
During my undergraduate years, I had the privilege of interning at remarkable organizations. One such experience was as a baseball operations intern for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod Baseball League. In this role, I honed skills in analytics and player development, responsible for crafting daily scouting reports on opposing pitchers and optimizing our lineup analytically. Winning the championship capped this incredible experience.
I also gained valuable logistics experience at the FISU 2022 World University Games in Lake Placid, addressing shipping issues, maintaining precise purchase order records, and overseeing logistics support activities, including repair analytics and test equipment recommendations.
Additionally, I served as an operations manager for College Truckers at Ithaca College, overseeing operations and marketing, along with recruiting and managing a team of workers. My responsibilities included scheduling and ensuring the smooth functioning of the storage service for students during summer breaks.
Please take a moment to view my resume using the link below, and please connect with me on LinkedIn if you would like to chat. Thank you!
Hi, my name is Owen Laffey, I am a motivated and resourceful team player with exceptional attention to detail seeking to utilize my communication and leadership skills in a marketing capacity. Over the past four years, I had the privilege of being part of the Men’s Lacrosse team at Nazareth University. This was an amazing experience that gave me countless life lessons while pushing me to learn and grow as an athlete and as a person.
My lacrosse career has now come to an end, and I will be pursuing my MBA at RIT starting this fall. I am enthusiastic about channeling this passion and drive into the professional world and continuing my journey of personal and career development
Hello! My name is Philip Rottkamp, and I am an MBA student at Rochester Institute of Technology. I earned my undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems from RIT in May 2023 with a GPA of 3.98. I am a proud recipient of several awards as an undergraduate student, including Dean’s List for all 8 semesters attended, induction into the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award, which is given to the top 1% of undergraduate students who achieve academic excellence while also giving back to the community.
I have been active in RIT’s community through my work with New Student Orientation as an Orientation Leader (2020, 2022) and Orientation Supervisor (2023), and through my work as President of the RIT Fighting Game Community (2021 – 2023). Both experiences have not only further engaged me into the greater RIT community, but have built up my leadership skills and creative thinking skills in ways that many academic classes cannot.
I have been working with my local utilities company, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Co., since June 2022 as an IT Intern. There, I have been using my technical skills to design and build Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboards for different departments to help company leaders get the most up to date information fast in an organized manner. Alongside being the lead developer for the Human Resources KPI dashboard, I have also been co-managing the project surrounding the HR dashboard to help ensure all deliverables are complete, resources are allocated appropriately, and to make sure time, cost, and scope are on track.
Please take a moment to view my resume using the link below, and please connect with me on LinkedIn if you would like to chat. Thank you!
Hello! My name is James Sheeler. While originally from Boulder, Colorado, and Cleveland, Ohio I came to Rochester, New York to get my BFA in Industrial Design and my MBA in STEM.
From a young age, I always enjoyed being creative in both drawing and building. This would ultimately lead me to study design at RIT. However, as I continued through the program, I became increasingly curious about how to sell the products that I was designing. I began to enroll myself in entrepreneurship classes that began to fuel another interest of mine, business. Furthermore, I began entering pitch competitions and business accelerators where I was able to become more comfortable with public speaking. These lessons have increased my confidence in seeing ideas through from the ideation phase to understanding the steps it takes for a product to get to a customer.
After graduation, I look forward to being part of a company where I can continue to apply my skills and interests in design and business.
Hello! My name is Daniel Lemaster. Being raised in Lancaster, PA I grew up around many small businesses including my own family’s, which got me into the idea of owning and operating my own business early in life. Along with this, being from such a small-town area there wasn’t a lot for me to do, and when I was around 14, I started to get into photography as a hobby to pass time and quickly grew in love with it. It is these conditions that set me down the path that I am on today.
In 2021 I received my BFA in Photographic and Imaging Arts with a specialization in Advertising Photography, along with a minor in advertising and public relations, and business administration. Currently, I am pursuing my MBA with a planned graduation of 2022.
My plan is to work towards becoming a Serial Entrepreneur. Having a love and passion for both business and the arts positions me well to balance creativity and structure to come up with new business ideas and to operate them well.
Hey everyone! My name is Jake Hamacher and I am an MBA Student at Rochester Institute of Technology. I graduated last year from RIT with a major in Finance and a minor in Public Relations and Advertising. I also play on the Division I hockey team here at RIT, and this is my 5thyear on the team. Due to Covid-19, athletes were given an extra year of eligibility, so I figured I might as well put that extra year to good use and get an MBA!
Background
I am originally from Southern California, where I lived until I was 16. In order to follow my dream of playing Division I hockey, I played all over America until committing to RIT. I’ve lived in Washington state, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin before finally arriving in beautiful Rochester, NY. I always knew I wanted to get a degree in something business-related, and Finance intrigued and interested me the most.
Experience and the Future
During the summer of 2019, I was able to co-op at Northwestern Mutual as a financial representative, which taught me a lot, but also left me hungry to learn more. After my playing days are over, I want to somehow work with athletes and help them navigate their finances, hopefully as a financial representative who specializes in working with athletes. I don’t know if anyone reading this has seen the HBO show Ballers, but that seems like a pretty good life!
Connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram and take a look at my resume!
